bookbirder's review against another edition
2.0
Well-written but failed to capture my interest, and jumped back and forth between time periods a confusing amount.
m_papaya's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
patroclusbro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Ein Buch voller wunderschöner Bilder über das Kochen, das Meer, Familienwunden und Erinnerung.
Leider ist mir die Hauptfigur bis zum Schluss nicht näher gekommen; die häufigen Wechsel der Zeitperspektiven haben es mir schwer gemacht, die Handlung nachzuvollziehen, und wie einzelne Geschehnisse zusammenhingen. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass es, abseits weniger Szenen im letzten Viertel, kaum einen Unterschied macht, wie viel und welche Passagen des Buches man liest, um es "gelesen zu haben". Da hätte ich mir eine geradlinigere Erzählstruktur, eine bessere Markierung von Zeit, oder die striktere Unterteilung in einzelne Anekdoten gewünscht.
Definitiv ein "Vibes, not plot"-Buch, mit einem in sich zerrissenen, zynischen Hauptcharakter, und mit einer weniger tiefgehenden Darstellung von Gertrude Stein und Alice B. Thoklas, als erwartet.
Leider ist mir die Hauptfigur bis zum Schluss nicht näher gekommen; die häufigen Wechsel der Zeitperspektiven haben es mir schwer gemacht, die Handlung nachzuvollziehen, und wie einzelne Geschehnisse zusammenhingen. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass es, abseits weniger Szenen im letzten Viertel, kaum einen Unterschied macht, wie viel und welche Passagen des Buches man liest, um es "gelesen zu haben". Da hätte ich mir eine geradlinigere Erzählstruktur, eine bessere Markierung von Zeit, oder die striktere Unterteilung in einzelne Anekdoten gewünscht.
Definitiv ein "Vibes, not plot"-Buch, mit einem in sich zerrissenen, zynischen Hauptcharakter, und mit einer weniger tiefgehenden Darstellung von Gertrude Stein und Alice B. Thoklas, als erwartet.
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautiful book... it's kind of a foodie book, but it's beautiful in so many other ways. Set in Vietnam (at the time when it was French Indo-China) and Paris in the 1910-20's, the first-person storyteller is a young gay Vietnamese man who studies under a chef in his home country and emigrates by boat to Paris, where he works as a cook for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The book is beautiful and deep and it's not just about the plot. It's about family and stories and names and flavors. Beautiful book.
pmastr's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ac_rva's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
jiyoung's review against another edition
3.0
The Book of Salt is the ponderous internal monologue of a queer Vietnamese man hired by Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas to be their live-in cook in Paris. Binh’s stream of consciousness jumps from his country’s colonial history to the alienation he faces in Europe, peppered with amusing little commentary on “the Steins” and their relationship (it’s basically tongue-in-cheek Gertrude Stein fanfiction). The prose could be very beautiful at times but Binh’s thoughts meandered quite a bit and I couldn’t always grasp if there was a point to certain passages, or what direction they were headed in. Atmospheric though, with nice nuggets of keen observations.
oliviafarrington's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Every line was substantial, prosaic, sensory. I loved the attention to intimate details and intimacy itself, all of its food related metaphors. It was dense, consequently, and took me a long time to read. I felt like so much was withdrawn and gradually released that I’d have to read it again to feel like I really knew the protagonist - I never imagined a face for the first person.
booksaremysuperpower's review against another edition
3.0
Truong's use of language here is dazzling. The whole book is 100% sensual, very poetic in its imagery. I haven't read something this sultry and evocative in a long time.
I think readers would either love this or hate this - I fell somewhere in between. I appreciated her unique use of narrative structure, but the story takes work. The book is NOT an easy read. I had to constantly track where our narrator was in location, emotion, and thought process. Still, that's not to say some of the work isn't rewarding - it certainly is - but I had to wonder if I was sometimes more intrigued to keep going because it was set in Paris in the 30s and I was perhaps more interested in Binh's relationship with (and stark observations thereof) Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas than his own personal journey.
The author does manage to incorporate many themes: what it means to be an immigrant, a servant, a foreigner learning a new language, homosexuality, racism, of family and home, and longing for love and identity. It is a lot, but I thought Truong handled the overall arc of Binh's story well while not seeming as though she was pandering to a modern audience.
Some passages that struck me that speak to the larger themes of belonging in a foreign city:
"As I begin to understand what you are saying to me, I become acutely aware of my skin. I detect the existence of a forgotten terrain. I believe that my relationship to this city has now changed. I have been witnessed. You have testified to my appearance and demeanor. I have been sighted."
"Really, Madame, what was I supposed to do in Bilignin? It was never part of our original bargain. I spend my months there and never, never see a face that looks like mine, except for the one that grows gaunt in the mirror. In Paris, GertrudeStein, the constant traffic of people at least includes my fellow asiatiques. And while we may never nod at one another, tip our hats in polite fashion...we breathe a little easier with each face that we see. It is the recognition that in the darkest streets of the city there is another body like mine, and that it means me no harm."
"Language is a house with a host of doors, and I am too often uninvited and without the keys."
Where I think she loses most of her audience is in her abundance of linguistically challenging, though beautiful, writing. She over dazzles at times, leaving me rather tired. I often had to read a passage twice to see if I understand her metaphor and give up and move on.
She also includes an encounter with Ho Chi Minh, who goes under a pseudonym, and it's alluded to that he may be Binh's biological father... this was sort of a 'jump the shark' moment for me and one I didn't even fully comprehend until I read an interview article with the author, which left me disappointed.
This is a slow burn of a novel, often delightful and sometimes frustrating, and one where almost nothing happens, except Binh is facing another exile to either another foreign country or his home country (they might be one in the same based on where he ends up at the end of the novel). I did care about him and wanted to know where he chose to go.
The book is admirable but not one I'd tell anyone (unless I knew they were strong poetry fans) to rush out and read.
I think readers would either love this or hate this - I fell somewhere in between. I appreciated her unique use of narrative structure, but the story takes work. The book is NOT an easy read. I had to constantly track where our narrator was in location, emotion, and thought process. Still, that's not to say some of the work isn't rewarding - it certainly is - but I had to wonder if I was sometimes more intrigued to keep going because it was set in Paris in the 30s and I was perhaps more interested in Binh's relationship with (and stark observations thereof) Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas than his own personal journey.
The author does manage to incorporate many themes: what it means to be an immigrant, a servant, a foreigner learning a new language, homosexuality, racism, of family and home, and longing for love and identity. It is a lot, but I thought Truong handled the overall arc of Binh's story well while not seeming as though she was pandering to a modern audience.
Some passages that struck me that speak to the larger themes of belonging in a foreign city:
"As I begin to understand what you are saying to me, I become acutely aware of my skin. I detect the existence of a forgotten terrain. I believe that my relationship to this city has now changed. I have been witnessed. You have testified to my appearance and demeanor. I have been sighted."
"Really, Madame, what was I supposed to do in Bilignin? It was never part of our original bargain. I spend my months there and never, never see a face that looks like mine, except for the one that grows gaunt in the mirror. In Paris, GertrudeStein, the constant traffic of people at least includes my fellow asiatiques. And while we may never nod at one another, tip our hats in polite fashion...we breathe a little easier with each face that we see. It is the recognition that in the darkest streets of the city there is another body like mine, and that it means me no harm."
"Language is a house with a host of doors, and I am too often uninvited and without the keys."
Where I think she loses most of her audience is in her abundance of linguistically challenging, though beautiful, writing. She over dazzles at times, leaving me rather tired. I often had to read a passage twice to see if I understand her metaphor and give up and move on.
She also includes an encounter with Ho Chi Minh, who goes under a pseudonym, and it's alluded to that he may be Binh's biological father... this was sort of a 'jump the shark' moment for me and one I didn't even fully comprehend until I read an interview article with the author, which left me disappointed.
This is a slow burn of a novel, often delightful and sometimes frustrating, and one where almost nothing happens, except Binh is facing another exile to either another foreign country or his home country (they might be one in the same based on where he ends up at the end of the novel). I did care about him and wanted to know where he chose to go.
The book is admirable but not one I'd tell anyone (unless I knew they were strong poetry fans) to rush out and read.